Rosegarden Week 2
by CarlottaStudios - MOVED TO AO3
Summary: Voila! At long last, my written entries for 2018's second Rosegarden Week (because I didn't participate in the first one)! (my entries for days 4 and 5 are images and, thus, not available here)
1. Day 1: Creation

Despite the late hour, Ruby and Oscar were still wide awake, their eyes trained on the wee bundle in Oscar's arms.

"Isn't he just so perfect?" Ruby marveled to her husband.

"Ssh, you might wake him." Oscar said gently, cradling Linden closely to his chest.

Ruby softly whispered an apology, then continued to stare at their son. As Linden shifted in his sleep, the soft dark blanket he was swaddled in became a little untucked and his teeny fingers clenched and unclenched as if searching for the missing fabric. But the infant's discomfort didn't last long, as Oscar quickly rearranged the loosened piece of blanket so that it was wrapped around him as snuggly as before. He let out a sleepy little murmur and settled once more in the crib of his father's arm.

"He feels so tiny." Oscar whispered.

"I know!" Ruby squeaked almost inaudibly to keep from waking their son. "And I kind of want him to stay small forever." she added wistfully.

Oscar turned his head to her.

"Ruby," he started, smiling regretfully, and she sighed.

"I know, I know, that's not gonna happen." she nodded. "But, still…I want it to." she added in a tiny voice, looking back at Linden, so little and precious.

"I don't blame you." said Oscar sympathetically.

They fell into silence for a long while, each thinking the same as the other. As long as Linden was tiny like this, he had no need to go out into the world. No reason to see how, despite its beauty, how dangerous it still, even after all these years. There were still minute populations of grimm that needed snuffing out, getting gradually smaller day by day, and human monsters, selfish and cruel people, that could never be gotten rid of. But they were kept separate and far away from Linden. And his parents wished that they could always keep them away, that Linden could stay forever their sweet, helpless little child and never have to grow up and see even half of what they had. But that, of course, could never come to pass. Linden couldn't stay this small forever, and all Oscar and Ruby could do was cherish the time that he was.

"Sometimes I just can't believe it." Ruby murmured.

Oscar looked at her, puzzled.

"Can't believe what?"

Ruby's silver eyes flicked up to him, embarrassment settling over her expression.

"That we made this." she confessed, sounding abashed at her own words. "That this is really our baby. That we created this."

Her voice trailed off as she looked again at Linden. Then she said, as if to herself:

"Something so small and beautiful and perfect."

Oscar stared at her for a moment, then nudged her lightly so her gaze went back to his.

"Well, do you want to know how I can believe it?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, but she was smiling again.

"How?"

Oscar smiled at her.

"Because he's just like you." he answered. "Small, beautiful and perfect."

The sentiment had the desired effect. Ruby blushed at his words, but the embarrassment had faded and her smiled widened. She leaned forward to kiss her husband's face.

"I think you're perfect too." she whispered.

He smiled and they kissed properly, their lips brushing sweetly against each other for a few seconds, until Linden seemed to wake up and started fussing in Oscar's arms.

"He wants you." Oscar said softly, passing the baby over to Ruby, who nestled him carefully against her chest.

As he felt his mother's arms protectively enclose around him, Linden opened his eyes, silver like Ruby's own. And in that moment, looking into his shining, star-like eyes, she could believe. Yes, she could believe that she'd helped create something so wonderful as their child.


	2. Day 2: Silver

"It's…It's beautiful!" Ruby's eyes shone as she held up the silver rose necklace, a huge smile on her face.

Oscar grinned, evidently pleased with his anniversary present.

"I take it that means you like it?"

"I love it!" she leaped at him, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Whoa! Be careful Ruby! The jewellery looks fragile!" warned Taiyang from where he leaned against the kitchen counter.

"And expensive." added Qrow. "Where'd you get the money for that, kid?"

Oscar managed to answer the huntsman's question, but not without difficulty, as he was noticeably distracted by Ruby kissing him again and again.

"Years and years of saving up my allowance. Plus a lot of extra farmwork for my relatives." he smiled proudly. "Totally worth it." then he turned his head to Ruby's barrage of kisses with one of his own.

She gave him a few last pecks before pulling away, bouncing giddy joy.

"I'm going to put this on right now!" she held up the necklace excitedly.

"Maybe you should get changed first?" suggested Oscar. "We gotta be on our way soon."

"I was going to do that too!" she said, then giving more kiss on the cheek before she raced upstairs.

Only a few minutes later, she came back down, now dressed in her chosen attire for the evening. Oscar's eyes went wide as he saw her. Ruby's dress was a cloud-like silver silk and it helped bring out the beautiful pearly colour of her eyes. Her new necklace a noticeably paler shade and, from where it sat below her collarbone, its tiny petals glimmered like water in the moonlight. Ruby smiled.

"So, how do I look?" she asked, her pinks a delicate pink, and though she appeared calm, the shifting of her feet in their dark grey flats betrayed her shyness.

"Gorgeous." Oscar said dreamily, causing Ruby to giggle.

The young man managed to collect himself and offered her his arm. She accepted it, but stopped and withdrew her arm.

"Shoot! I almost forgot your present!"

She rushed upstairs, coming back a few seconds later holding a small dark blue box with silver ribbon tied around it in a bow.

"It's not nearly as romantic as yours, but I hope you like it anyway."

"If it's from you, I know I will." Oscar assured her, undoing the bow and opening the box.

Inside, laid on a bed of white fabric, was a pair of rectangular reading glasses, the dark wire rims glinting in the lamp light.

"You got me new glasses!" Oscar exclaimed, delighted, and he wrapped Ruby in a hug. "Thank you, Ruby! This is the best anniversary gift ever!"

"No, yours is the best!" she argued, kissing him.

"Oh, would you two just go already!" said Qrow. "You're gonna give us all cavities!"

"Stop being so cynical, Qrow!" Tai chastised, then to the teens he said: "Have a wonderful anniversary, you two!"

"We will dad!" Ruby smiled to Tai, then waved at Qrow. "See you later dad!"

"Don't have too much fun." her biological father cautioned, but his tone was light and his smile warm.

Oscar chuckled.

"Sorry, Qrow, but we can't make any promises."

Qrow nodded approvingly.

"Good man. See you later."

"Bye kids!" Tai waved to them as they stepped out of the house.

"Bye!" they answered, then started off.

After walking a little while in the fading light of late afternoon, Oscar broke the silence.

"I don't mean to brag, but now that I think about it, I guess you could say my gift is the more fitting one."

"What do you mean?" asked Ruby, looking up at him.

"Well, it turns out that silver is actually the colour associated with couples' 10th wedding anniversaries." Oscar explained, then added quickly. "And I know that we're not married, and it hasn't been 10 years, but this is technically our 10th date."

"You're right!" Ruby smiled. "At least, so long as you're only counting 'real' dates." she said, to which Oscar nodded. "You know, when we actually plan for it as a date and it starts as a date and ends as a date and doesn't turn into a fight with a bunch of grimm or something?"

They both shared a laugh at that. That particular turn of events was one they had experienced many times. Too many times for their liking. There was nothing more annoying then when your nice evening with your significant other was rudely interrupted by a stranger bursting into the restaurant shouting that a pack of beowulfs had been spotted at the outskirts of town or by a nevermore flying over the theatre where you were watching a movie or even an ursa barging in on the romantic picnic you'd spent hours planning and preparing. This last had particularly irked Oscar as he had indeed spent hours picking the right spot for that picnic and getting the food ready himself. Food which had nearly gone to waste with the ursa's attack. He was so peeved by this that he'd nearly killed the brute with a single hit. Luckily, such events hadn't always transpired. Oscar and Ruby had managed to have 9 successful, completely uninterrupted and very enjoyable dates, and hopefully this would be the tenth.

"So I was right!" said Ruby. "Yours is the best anniversary gift! Ever!"

Oscar smiled at her.

"No. No, it's not." he said softly, putting an arm around her, the silver-eyed girl of his dreams, as they kept walking. "Because you're the best anniversary gift ever."


	3. Day 3: Midnight

As the sounds of music, talking and laughter thrummed about the house, Ruby went up the stairs, going two at a time in her excitement. Even in the darkness of the second floor, it took her only a moment to locate the door to Oscar's room. She knocked. After a few seconds of shifting blankets and footsteps, Oscar opened the door, looking very rumpled and tired, with his hazel eyes heavily-lidded and his dark locks arranged in the fluffiest (and cutest) bedhead the red-haired girl had ever seen.

"Hey," she greeted, keeping her voice hushed.

"Ruby?" Oscar's voice was hoarse from sleep, but he sounded more curious than confused. "What's going on? Is the party over?"

"Nope." she shook her head. "Not by a longshot."

The farm boy raised an eyebrow.

"Then why-"

"I'm sorry for interrupting your sleep, I really am," Ruby apologized in a whisper, "but I just had to wake you up for this."

Oscar could only blink at her.

"Okay…? For what?"

As soon as he asked, there was a cry from downstairs from their still-partying friends:

"5! 4! 3! 2! 1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" they cheered, so loudly the house practically shook.

The very second the words were uttered, Ruby closed the distance between her and Oscar and planted her lips against his. He put his arms around her, relaxing as she kissed him, and it took him quite a long time to pull away.

"I guess that answers my question." he smiled, slightly less drowsy than before, though only slightly.

Ruby looked at him guiltily.

"Are you still mad at me for waking you up?"

Oscar shook his head.

"I could never be mad at you, Ruby." he said, and then some of his tiredness seemed to come back as he added: "Just please don't do it again."

"Not until next year." Ruby smirked mischievously.

He rolled his eyes.

"Of course." he couldn't help but smile, then he kissed her.

Ruby smiled against his lips, her fingers moving up to thread through and play with the tips of his hair.

"That was nice." Oscar said once they pulled away. "But I'm going to go back to sleep now."

"Good luck with that." said Ruby, frowning sympathetically. "Yang and Nora made it clear that by the time the clock strikes midnight, the party's only getting started."

Oscar wasn't in the least surprised by this news.

"Then I'll try to go back to sleep now."

Ruby nodded.

"Can I join you?"

His eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"Won't you miss the party?"

"I'm not a big party person." Ruby shrugged. "I'd kind of prefer spending New Year's with just you rather than a whole bunch of people, even if they're all friends."

Oscar smiled at that, a happy tint of pink blooming across his cheeks.

"Besides," Ruby added, smiling proudly, "the idea of being one of the few people who's not going to be groggy in the morning is very appealing."

"Now you see the method to my madness." Oscar returned the smile and the two giggled at that.

As the laughter receded, Ruby shyly twisted a strand of her red-black hair around her finger.

"So, can I come in?" she asked in a small voice.

Her question was met with Oscar's arm settling around her waist and her boyfriend's eyes brightening with happiness, despite how sleepy he still looked.

"Of course."

They both headed inside his room and Ruby undressed quickly and snuggled under the blankets with him.

"Happy New Year, Oscar."

"Happy New Year, Ruby…" he said, his voice dropping off into a yawn.

Oscar was asleep within moments, but Ruby didn't fall asleep yet. In fact, despite her eagerness to join Oscar, she didn't feel at all sleepy yet. So instead she counted Oscar's freckles, silently so as not to wake him up again, taking her time to delicately touch every dark spot that decorated his face until her eyes started drifting closed. Of all the new year's midnights she'd experience in her life, this one would go down as one of her favourites.


	4. Day 6: Role Swap AU

"Do you know if Qrow's gonna be back anytime soon?" Oscar asked out loud.

There was seemingly no one else in the room, but in truth, he was conversing with someone other than himself. The someone just happened to be invisible and imperceptible to everyone but the farm boy, as he was a voice in the latter's head. And no, before you ask, this voice was not a figment of Oscar's imagination or an acute stress reaction. He was professor Ozpin, the recently deceased headmaster of Beacon Academy, whose aura and soul had bonded with Oscar's, meaning that the two were now sharing a single mind and body and that, over time, their consciousnesses would become one as well. Yes, it is just as mystique and complicated as it sounds, and made even more so by the fact that Ozpin had, technically, been through this before. But that is a long story for another day.

"I know a great many things, Oscar," Ozpin said, his voice only audible to the boy, "but the future, especially as it pertains to Qrow and his getting drunk, is not among those things."

Oscar, who'd just sat down on the bed, raised an eyebrow.

"Why would Qrow need to get drunk?" he asked.

The headmaster's voice, when it spoke again, sounded perplexed.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, didn't Glynda say that he's always drunk?" asked Oscar, referring to Ozpin's deputy-headmistress, or rather former deputy-headmistress now.

He knew that she'd said those exact words by his looking through some of Ozpin's memories, those of when he was still alive, still headmaster of the renown huntsmen academy, still…Ozpin.

"He's not always drunk, Oscar." Ozpin assured. "He's been sober on occasion."

Oscar didn't miss the note of hesitation in the headmaster's voice and he concluded that such occasions when Qrow was without alcohol were very rare and, if the briefest glance at the memories this sentence had brought up from Ozpin meant anything, a bit unpleasant.

"So Glynda was wrong?" he smirked.

"She was mildly exaggerating." Ozpin corrected, sounding very defensive on behalf of his former deputy-headmistress, causing the boy to snicker. "As to Qrow, I'll admit that he's rarely sober, but he doesn't get drunk too often, thank Dust. Most of the time, he's simply…how did he put it…? Buzzed. This time, however, given how he's not yet returned, I think it safe to say he'll be rather inebriated when he comes back. And when happens, you're on your own."

This caused a trickle of apprehension to run down Oscar's spine.

"Why?"

"I've dealt with drunk Qrow more than enough in my own lifetime thank you very much." Ozpin said, and the firmness in his tone would brook absolutely no argument.

Oscar couldn't help a sardonic chuckle.

"Gee, thanks for the support." he rolled his hazel eyes.

"I do what I can." Ozpin replied simply.

Oscar reached over and grabbed the book he'd been reading during what little free time they'd had on this journey. He could almost feel Ozpin's intrigue as he opened it to one particular page.

"Silver-eyed warriors?" the wizard asked.

The boy nodded.

"Yeah,"

"You've read that page several times already in the past few months." noted the older man.

Oscar shrugged, though he knew Ozpin probably couldn't see (maybe, this whole magical business was still a bit of a mystery).

"I'm just interested. And I guess…" his voice trailed off into a more hushed tone, as if he were discussing something particularly secret, "after what you said about the silver eyes…and their powers…"

Oscar fell silent. The headmaster had indeed spoken about the silver-eyed warriors, or at least, what he knew of them. Surprisingly, the headmaster had little knowledge about this branch of magical beings, but he did know, he'd shared with the farm boy, and his information had fascinated Oscar. But there was another, more pressing, reason for his interest.

"It could sure help us to have someone like that." he finished.

"Hmm," Ozpin's voice hummed.

Oscar looked up. He knew that Ozpin was figuring out how to tell him something and so he waited patiently for the man to speak, deciding not to intrude into his thoughts. After about a minute, Ozpin seemed to have made his mind.

"You know, Oscar, there might be-"

A noise from the room nearby interrupted Oscar's focus on the wizard's words. He frowned, screwing his eyes tight in irritation.

"Sorry Oz-" he said distractedly, getting up and closing the book after folding down a corner of the page.

He shot a glare at the door.

"What are they doing?!" he muttered as he headed out.

Once in the hallway, he called out to his teammates, his frustration evident in every syllable:

"What is going on out there?! Can't a guy have a conversation with a thousand-year-old man living inside his head in…"

His voice trailed off as he saw the cause of the noise: Qrow had just arrived back at the house and, as Ozpin had feared, he was clearly drunk. He wobbled over from the door to the living room couch, crashing on it while laughing a bit uncontrollably. But what really got Oscar's attention was the girl standing in the doorway. She'd been trying to support the intoxicated huntsman when they'd first come in, but he'd ignored her efforts and gave her a tap on the nose before staggering to the couch. The girl's attention shifted suddenly, as did everyone else's, to Oscar when he stormed into the room and she was now staring at him.

"…peace…" Oscar finished lamely.

He couldn't take his eyes off the girl. She was short, about his height, maybe an inch taller, with pale skin and short black hair that faded to a deep red at the tips. She was also dressed in shades of black and red, with a long red cape held by a silver, rose-shaped pin. Oscar could feel his cheeks heating up as he looked at her, because she was beautiful, the single prettiest creature he had ever seen in his life. And her most beautiful feature, what kept his gaze locked to hers, were her eyes: two bright orbs wide with surprise, framed by thick dark lashes, and both a gleaming silver.

"Silver eyes…" he breathed, as though to himself, then louder: "You…You have silver eyes…I mean-" he caught himself, shaking his head as though to clear it, then asked: "W-Who are you?"

"Huh?! Uh…"

The girl too had seemed transfixed, but she blinked at his question, turning her bright, star-like eyes to the other curious faces around her. After a nervous pause, she looked anxiously at her feet and said:

"Well…My name is Ruby Rose. I'm Qrow's niece and, uh…I heard you were looking for a silver-eyed warrior?"

Everyone now stared at the girl in shock, until Qrow broke the stunned silence. He was laughing. He lay on the couch was laughed, the sound growing louder and more triumphant, until, jubilantly, he cried out:

"I DID IT!"

And then he fell to the floor with a thump!


	5. Day 7: Curse

"Forget it, Ruby," Oscar shook his head. "I'm not going to teach you how to curse in dead languages."

"Aww, why not?" Ruby wailed, her shoulder slumping.

Oscar exhaled impatiently.

"Because-Wait-Why do you even want to know that anyway?!"

Ruby was all too eager to explain.

"Because I want to know how to curse without my dad or Yang or Qrow catching on. They don't want me cursing because 'it's not lady-like' or, even worse 'I'm not old enough'." she said, making air-quotes and rolling her eyes. "Which is ridiculous! I don't have to be a lady AND I'm old enough to know what the F word means!"

Oscar frowned doubtfully.

"And do you know-"

"Yes! I know what it means!" Ruby interrupted.

"Just thought I'd make sure." Oscar said, though at least now he seemed convinced in Ruby's knowledge in profanity.

"So, will you teach me?" she asked, her big silver eyes shining with hope.

"No." he said firmly.

"Come on, pleeeaaase?" Ruby begged. "What's it going to take for me to convince you?!"

As she spoke, she leaned close to him, causing a bright rosy blush to spread over his cheeks. For just the briefest instant, his eyes automatically flicked towards her lips before he made himself look back into her eyes. Ruby noticed this (it was difficult not to) and found herself blushing too. Oscar shook his head vehemently and backed away on the couch.

"Nothing! Th-There's nothing you can do that'll change my mind!" he stuttered, his blush deepening.

His answer left Ruby thoroughly unconvinced. For all his protests, there was definitely something that could change his mind. And that, coupled with his reaction to her approach, gave her an idea.

"Are you sure?" she smirked cunningly, edging closer to him.

Oscar's face heated up again and he scooted away until he ran out of couch. Ruby promptly closed the gap the boy had attempted to put between them, holding back a giggle at the look on Oscar's face. His big eyes were now the size of dinner plates and his freckles stood out adorably against the vivid pink of his cheeks. It was almost funny how cute she found him when he was this shy.

"Positive." he said in answer to her question, and his voice was practically a squeak.

This only encouraged Ruby to go along with her idea.

"What about this?" she hesitated a beat, then kissed Oscar on the cheek.

He was scarlet and freezes as soon as her lips touched him, as though he'd had a hundred volts of electricity suddenly shoot throughout his body. Then he seemed to melt, a moonstruck smile spreading across his face.

"W-Well I g-guess one or two words might be okay…" he conceded.

"Yes!" Ruby pumped her fist joyfully. "Thank you, Oscar! You're the best! Also, just as a side-note," she added, blushing as she spoke, "your cheeks are very kissable."

This statement nearly gave Oscar a heart-attack.

…

And so, the lessons began. Oscar and Ruby would find a quiet place to sit down, every day, and Oscar would teach her a few curses, which she'd then repeat with his aid until she had memorized them. After every new word he taught her, she rewarded his teachings with a kiss on the cheek, or wherever else on his face that she wanted to kiss. And as the lessons continued, Oscar grew less and less nervous about her kisses, though his enjoyment of them never diminished. If anything, he seemed to look even more forward to them, so much that he once tried to rush through the lesson to get a kiss on the forehead. He only did this once though, and Ruby teased him for his impatience until he apologized. For her part, Ruby found that she very much liked kissing Oscar. And then, one day, the dynamic changed. This time, he was teaching her curses in latin.

"So there are two words in Latin for the F word." Ruby said.

"Right," Oscar nodded, "and they are?"

"Irrumabo and futuo."

"Correct. And the S word is?"

"Stercore."

"Exactly. And if you've just stubbed your toe extra hard on the edge of the coffee table…"

"Malum sit! Which means 'Damn it!'! And the next time I see Tyrian or Cinder and I want to give them a piece of my mind in Latin, I say 'Vilis!'!" Ruby beamed triumphantly.

"Correct!" Oscar grinned. "So that's 5 ways to curse in Latin, which means you owe me 5 kisses."

Ruby raised an eyebrow at him. Already the flutters were starting up again in her stomach at the thought of kissing Oscar five times.

"But we only translated 4 curses."

"But the two different ways of saying the F word count as two separate curses. So that makes 5."

He smirked, and Ruby could feel even more fluttering, this time in her chest.

"How do I know you're not just trying to get extra kisses?" she scooted over to Oscar and kissed him on the cheek.

Oscar laughed lightly.

"Can you blame me?" he asked as Ruby kissed him on the other cheek.

She pulls away, surprised.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Oscar realized what he'd just said and backtracked, going red in the face.

"Uh-Well-The thing is-I…well…I really…really like you-"

Ruby's eyes went wide.

"I mean-your kissing me! But also you-uh-!"

Oscar cut himself off as Ruby put a hand on his shoulder.

"Oscar,"

"Y-Y-Yeah?" he nervously looked at her, and slowly seemed to realize that she blushing about as much as he was, if not more.

She chuckled nervously.

"I…" she said softly, not quite knowing how to put into words what she was thinking.

She looked back up at him, then cupped his face, facing him properly.

"I really" she said, then leaned forward to kiss him again on the cheek, "really" another kiss, on the other cheek, "like" a kiss on his forehead, "kissing you" on the tip of his nose, "too." she finished, before kissing him very lightly and carefully on his lips.

As she did, there was a sudden burst of fluttering in her stomach and she could swear, when she pulled away, that her heart had skipped a beat. It seemed that Oscar had had a similar reaction as, when they both blinked open their eyes, he looked just as flustered as she felt.

"R-Really?!" he asked, the corner of his mouth pulling up into a smile.

He sounded so adorably surprised and happy that Ruby couldn't help but laugh.

"Really." she said, trying in vain to stifle her giggles.

It proved easier said than done, so she tried to muffle them by kissing Oscar again.

"S-Sorry!" Ruby said as she pulled away, her snickers slowly starting to subside.

Oscar shook his head and made it clear she had nothing to apologize for, this time, by kissing her. And then they kissed again, and again, and then a bit more. It was just so nice, so very very nice, kissing Oscar, that it was a bit hard to stop.

'And to think,' both teens thought, 'it had started all with cursing.'

And as soon as that thought had crossed their minds, Oscar suddenly pulled away, his eyes wide.

"Oh no." he said and Ruby looked at him in worry.

"What? What is it? A-Am I bad at this?" Ruby asked, all at once feeling the first twinges of mortification.

"Wh-No! Not at all!" Oscar quickly reassured. "It's just that…" he stared in terror. "I'm going to die."

Ruby frowned, confused.

"What?"

"I'm going to die!" Oscar exclaimed. "Your uncle's going to kill me for kissing you and teaching you how to curse in dead languages in exchange for kisses and-Oh I'm such a dead man! And I've only just begun kissing you!" he moaned in dread.

"Oscar," Ruby soothed, "don't worry about it. Uncle Qrow's not going to kill you. He likes you, he's not going to hurt you!"

"Yeah, but you're his niece! Isn't it his job to be protective of you and murder any creature with a Y chromosome that approaches you?"

"Well, maybe, but he's not going to murder this one." she lightly poked him on the chest to emphasize her words, then smiled. "Tell you what, how about we just keep kissing until you forget all about him?"

Oscar gave her a skeptical look.

"Do you really think your kissing me is going to make me do whatever you want?"

In answer, she kissed him and almost immediately, she felt him relax beneath her touch.

"Okay, you're totally right," he admitted, "I'd give you the world."

She smiled.

"Well, I'm not asking for the world." she said, kissing him again.

…

A sharp pain flared throughout Ruby's scalp as her forehead hit the refrigerator's upper door. Her hand flew to the aching spot and she hissed loudly:

"Futuo suus damnare!"

"Ruby!" Yang cried, rushing over. "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm alright, sis." Ruby said, rubbing at the tender spot on her forehead.

"You sure?" Oscar asked, having reached her side almost faster than her sister.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Just whacked myself on the head." Ruby explained.

Then the three heard a voice from the kitchen doorway:

"Ruby,"

They all turned, slightly worried at the serious edge in the huntsman's voice. The look on the scythe-wielder's face didn't reassure them.

"Yes, uncle Qrow?" asked Ruby.

"Where did you learn that?" he growled lowly.

That sent a jolt of fear down Ruby's spine.

"Learn what?" she asked, feigning innocence, praying to the almighty Oum that he wasn't talking about what she thought he was talking about.

"That sentence. That's cursing in Latin." he said, his red eyes narrowing.

He was talking exactly about what's she'd thought, and feared, he'd been talking about. That alone was enough to make Ruby's complexion go white. Even worse, Yang was now looking at her sister with growing menace.

"Ruby, how did you learn to curse in Latin?" she asked warningly.

Ruby and Oscar glanced nervously at each other and the look in their eyes spoke the same message:

'Stercore!'


End file.
